Snowdrop Time

The gardeners at West Dean are set to welcome visitors back
this weekend (re-opening Sunday 1st February). Childish excitement
abounds when playing the 'can-you-spot-it game?' as bulbs erupt
from their winter quarters on the lawns. Early spring is the best
time to see the emerging displays of snowdrops and crocuses which
carpet the lawns here, until spring when the daffodils will light
up the gardens. Who can ever get bored with coming across a
delicious bunch of snowdrops or winter aconites? In some parts of
the garden, winter aconite seed, broadcast in years gone by, is now
appearing as the finished plant, plus ruff and yellow flower. What
a joy! Snowdrops are really making their mark now plus their
followers, the galanthophiles. Over 500,000 bulbs have been
planted in recent years throughout the gardens and every year the
display is more impressive.

Getting Ready for Spring

Garden work has continued at quite a lick on sunny days through
the winter months, with far fewer days lost this year to
interminable rainy days. Pruning on the pergola is almost complete,
the glasshouses are all washed, borders have been given the
border-management- treatment á la West Dean and potting up plants
continues unabated. Real Men
Sow has some good tips to bring the growing veg season forward,
including how to build a cold frame.

Will and Stu are once again trimming greenery around the gardens
which provides a linking theme to the landscape and some of the
topiary 'blobs' and 'dumpling' shapes are developing nicely. A lot
of diseasedvariegated aucuba has been removed from borders close to
the sunken garden, consequently opening up welcome views onto the
Edwardian Pergola.

Work on the Lavant River banks in the spring garden will
continue once the weather warms up. Some work will resume in summer
but, in the meantime, bare beds alongside the river will be planted
up in March to April. The river started flowing incredibly early at
the end of last year which took us by surprise and it's going full
bore at the moment.

Finally, one of the Victorian glasshouses has now been restored
and will be open for viewing this month. We launched the glasshouse appeal late last year as our dear old
glasshouses are in great need of a substantial facelift. The work
is being lovingly carried out by the West Dean Maintenance Team who
really know the business of glasshouse renovation and without them
it would difficult to look after the fabric of these historic
houses.